Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., November 02, 2007 Cheshvan 21, 5768 | | Israel Time: 22:38 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Print Edition Diplomacy Defense Arts & Leisure Real Estate Jewish World National Advertising Magazine Week's End Business Opinion Rosner's Domain Anglo File Books Travel

Finance Minister Roni Bar-On (Tomer Appelbaum / BauBau) del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 09:42 01/11/2007 State requests back-to-work orders for striking teachers By Or Kashti, Haaretz Correspondent tags: education, teachers, Israel  The Education and Finance ministries on Thursday asked the National Labor Court for back-to-work orders for striking teachers. A date has still not been set for debate on the matter. Senior officials in the Education Ministry announced late Wednesday that they were planning to request a court order against the teachers after the breakdown in talks held in the past few days with the Secondary School Teachers Association. O Advertisement n Wednesday afternoon the union rejected the treasury's offer of a 5-percent wage increase spread out over three years. After the teachers made their announcement, the chairman of the Union of Local Authorities (ULA), Adi Eldar - who is acting as a go-between in the negotiations - said that he had decided to end his role in the 20-day-old strike. The back-to-work orders will probably be issued for teachers of 11th and 12th grades. The Education Ministry also announced Wednesday that 255 elementary schools have agreed to join the reform program signed with the Teachers Federation. The reforms will be implemented in about 300 elementary schools this year. According to Education Ministry officials, if the legal preparations for the back-to-work orders can be finished in time, the ministry will go to court Thursday. However, this requires coordination with the local authorities, who are the direct employers of the teachers. "There is no justification for continuing the talks with the teachers," said one official. "We tried every possible way of ending the crisis through discussion, but with no success." However, even if the Labor Court issues the back-to-work order, it is not clear whether they will achieve their purpose. According to Dr. Aryeh Loker, head of the organization of high school principals, even if the teachers are forced back to work to prepare students for the winter round of matriculation exams, the principals can still prevent the students from taking the exams. But the ministry said that the schools would be forced to allow the tests. Finance Minister Roni Bar-On met for the first time Wednesday morning with the teacher's union head, Ran Erez. Education Minister Yuli Tamir was also present, as well as Eldar. After the meeting, Erez said that "the finance minister asked us to believe him that he truly wants to invest in education, but that we should settle in the meantime for the salary increase given to the Histadrut labor federation, which means 1.5 percent in the first year. He refused to agree to the demand for a 15-percent wage increase, even for longer work hours, and he was not willing to commit to two other demands of ours: reducing the number of students per class, and restoring class hours." Bar-On's offer was nothing new for the teachers, and after a few hours the union's leadership decided to reject the offer. According to other participants, Bar-On said that he could not meet teachers' demands due to the implications that would have on other sectors of the economy. "To my great sorrow, this round of talks also failed," Tamir said. "Nevertheless, we will continue to talk. This week a team will be established to adapt the Oz Latmura program [the reform for secondary schools - O.K.], and to reach an agreed upon framework." "We proposed to Erez to advance in two tracks," said another Education Ministry official. "One is the new collective bargaining agreement, which is similar to that agreed to with the Histadrut labor federation. The second is the high schools reform. It is impossible to complete such a task in a week or two, therefore we asked that the teachers return to work in the meantime. Erez was not willing to agree to any proposal." Related articles: Union threatens general strike in support of teachers Tamir, pressed to end teacher strike, to meet with union chief PM to secondary school teachers: Stop strike immediately Bookmark to del.icio.us Ellen takes J'lem Liberian President Johnson-Sirleaf to pay Israel a rare visit by an African leader. Greener gas Israeli entrepreneurs are launching a network of charging stations for electrical cars.   1.   Are they kidding? 10:27  |  Louise 01/11/07   2.   Is this teaching a lesson of some kind...?! 10:45  |  Esther 01/11/07   3.   esther 15:21  |  ka 01/11/07   4.   amen Louise 22:13  |  Nicole Collett 02/11/07

Today Online Report: Lebanese army fired on IAF fighter jets Responses: 168 Olmert seeks accord on 'core issues' while Bush in office Responses: 119 BICOM chief: Israel supporters in U.K. must stand up for Palestinian state Responses: 11 Editorial: Israel kowtows to its Jewish masters overseas Responses: 44 Yoel Marcus: An eye for an eye is not half-bad in Gaza Responses: 33 Gov't defends decision to curb power supply to Gaza Strip Responses: 61 Rosner's Domain * AIPAC trial: Bring on the top government officials * The genes that make Jews smart (What To Read) * Blog & Poll: Dem. candidates make Iran top issue * The Factor: Does McCain love Israel? More Headlines 22:29 AIPAC trial judge authorizes defense to subpoena Rice, Hadley 22:30 Report: Lebanese army fired on IAF fighter jets 20:37 World powers agree to push ahead with tougher UN sanctions on Iran 19:10 Hamas in Gaza said to downplay Abbas meet with W. Bank Hamas men 19:01 Germany starts work on exhibit at site of Nazi SS, Gestapo HQ 19:32 Report: Mortar shell fired from Gaza hits kibbutz; no damage or injuries 16:30 Court upholds ruling to let Rabin assassin hold son's bris in jail 19:54 In bid to calm tensions, Jewish community heads visit Peki'in 18:46 Liberian Pres. Johnson-Sirleaf to pay Israel rare visit by African leader 13:24 Gov't defends decision to curb power supply to Gaza Strip Previous Editions Select Day 01 nov 31 oct 30 oct 29 oct 28 oct 26 oct 25 oct 24 oct 23 oct 22 oct 21 oct 19 oct

Special Offers Advertisement learn Hebrew online with israel's best teachers. Sign up for a trial lesson today Invest in Macedonia New Business Heaven in Europe Long-term Israel programs MASA is your gateway. More programs. More grants. Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations JOIN FREE AT JDATE.COM The most popular online Jewish dating community in the world! Explore the possibilities! Click Here! Dead Sea Salt Beauty and skin care from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 10% off! Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt. Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza Israel Lowest internet rate Guaranteed at ichotelsgroup.com !

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved